I’m so honored that kids in Louisiana voted Acorn Was a Little Wild as their favorite picture book of the year! This month, I went to the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge to sign books, read the story, and accept this amazing award. Thank you. everyone who shared, read, and voted for Acorn!
Here’s a brand new FREE Acorn Was a Little Wild activity page. It’s inspired by a classroom activity that someone tagged me in on social media. I just loved the idea of kids drawing how Acorn changed from the beginning of the book to the end! Click here.
I’m so excited Abrazos for Baby is coming out this year! It’s a companion book to Besos for Baby and Sonrisas for Baby and is illustrated by the same fantastic artist, Blanca Gomez! Abrazos means “hugs” in Spanish and to me, this book feels like a warm hug from a good friend.
I never imagined a book I wrote would inspire a plush toy! Thank you, MerryMakers, for creating this absolutely adorable stuffed acorn based on Acorn Was a Little Wild. It has a super soft corduroy body, stitched eyes, and a hint of pink in its cheeks. Do you want your own Acorn to cuddle? Click here and check out the other great children’s book characters available from MerryMakers!
Last Thursday, Besos for Baby was an answer in the “Baby and Toddler Products” category on Jeopardy! I never in a million years thought a book I wrote would be on one of the longest running game shows of all time. I’m shocked and amazed—thank you, NBC!
I’m so honored—Acorn Was a Little Wild is the 2024 winner of the Nevada Young Readers’ Award for Picture Books!
Thank you to all the Nevada kids, librarians, and teachers who read the book! And thank you, Nevada Library Association. This little acorn is overjoyed!
Want to see the winners in the other categories? Click here.
What goes better with kisses than hugs? Little Brown asked me to add another book to the series that started with Besos for Baby and continued with Sonrisas for Baby. Abrazos for Baby, also illustrated by Blanca Gomez, is perfect for Valentine’s Day and any day that you just need a hug!
I’m so thrilled and honored that the board book edition of Marta! Big and Small has been named to Bank Street’s list of Best Children’s Books of the Year for 2024!
If you’d like to see the complete list, please click here.
Look how lovely this new edition of Acorn Was a Little Wild is! Instead of green leaves, the new cover art features autumnal leaves and copper foil accents. Inside has the same great story. This special edition is only available at Barnes & Noble. It goes perfectly with a pumpkin spice latte!
And here’s me, in B&N, grinning the first time I ever saw it!
Stanford’s DREME Network has created this really great Math Storybook Guide for Marta! Big and Small. It’s a terrific way to extend the learning in this cross-disciplinary bilingual book! Click here for the PDF.
Happy news—Acorn Was a Little Wild has won a Florida Book Award Silver Medal in the Young Children’s Literature Category! This award is given by the Florida State University Libraries to authors living in Florida. What an honor!
Jacketed picture book or board book? Soon you’ll have a choice! In June 2023, Roaring Brook is publishing a board book edition of Marta! Big and Small. I can’t wait to see how she looks in her new format!
Acorn Was a Little Wild is a perfect book to help kids appreciate the natural world around them, not only for Earth’s Day. To download a FREE educators’ guide with classroom activities, a maze, a scavenger hunt, and a word search, click here.
I’m so thrilled that Marta! Big and Small has been honored with a Mathical Book Award Honor! I always think of this book as a tool to help kids learn Spanish, but it can be used for Math instruction, too. So clever, Marta!
My first book with Chronicle comes out in 2022—Big Green Garage! Kids can lift flaps and pull tabs as they explore the pages. ”This garage is big and green, kind of busy, not so clean.”
The NCTE has published an article about using Marta! Big and Small in the classroom as a teaching tool. Check it out here.
Yay! I’ve been wanting to share the cover for Acorn Was a Little Wild for a while now. This book has a special place in my heart—it’s about growing up and rolling with all of life’s unexpected adventures. The art by Jessica Gibson is absolutely wonderful. Perfect for Earth Day and new grads, Acorn Was a Little Wild will be dropping into bookstores near you next year!
I’m so excited about my newest book, coming from Simon & Schuster! Acorn is the kind of nut who just rolls with life’s ups and downs. Whether it’s a treetop ride in a squirrel’s paws or a pounding rainstorm, Acorn is up for the adventure!
When Besos for Baby started to find its niche, my editor asked for a companion book, but it took several years to find the right angle—sonrisas, which means “smiles” in Spanish. I’m so happy to share the cover for Sonrisas for Baby with you, illustrated, like Besos for Baby, by the incomparable Blanca Gomez!
Wow! The Today Show online put together a list of Valentine’s book for kids, and Besos for Baby is on it! It’s so nice to see this book still getting love six years after it was first published!
Click here to see the full list. Besos for Baby is at #10!
